FIFA official Rebecca Welch will be on refereeing duty when Sheffield Wednesday face Birmingham City on Saturday. The 39-year-old will be assisted by Alex James and Mark Russell, with Paul Howard as the fourth official.
Welch hasn’t overseen a Wednesday fixture since April 7th. The official was the woman in the middle when the Owls drew 1-1 with Oxford during the 2022/23 season.
The news has been confirmed by the EFL website. Wednesday will be hoping to claim a morale-boosting victory at St Andrews and they can ill-afford any further dropped points after the international break.
Welch chosen to take charge of Wednesday fixture
The Owls will hope to let the football do the talking at the weekend, with the referee paling into insignificance really. Welch is well thought of and has featured in the Premier League this season.
The 39-year-old is something of a history-maker. She was the first female to be involved in a refereeing capacity on the Premier League earlier this month when she was the fourth official on Manchester United’s trip to Fulham.
Last season, she became the first woman in history to referee in the third round of the FA Cup. On that occasion, she had the whistle as Chesterfield and West Brom drew 3-3.
Wednesday need to focus on their own game plan
Danny Rohl won’t give two hoots who is coming to referee the Owls at the moment. He has a major task on his hands to revive the team’s fortunes and pull them clear of the foot of the table.
Wednesday are nine points adrift at the moment. They desperately need to put a run of good results together and they quite simply can’t keep losing football matches.
Welch is a capable referee and on Saturday it should be a good test for her. Wayne Rooney will be in the dugout for the home side but Rohl will hope to outthink him at the weekend.